Getting Money to Vegas

McW

Anybody found a better way of doing this than using ATM card or carrying cash?
I have quite a few dollars in various poker accounts and was thinking there must be some way to avoid incurring excahnge rate penalties twice
Cheers

5starpool

I believe you can arrange to wire it to the Bellagio, or other casinos. Others will be able to fill you in though.

Marq

put it in your sock.

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

Imposter

On another related note is it advisable to have an ITIN number sorted before going over if I mostly plan on playing cash games with maybe the odd smallish tourney thrown in?

BigCityBanker

Imposter wrote:

On another related note is it advisable to have an ITIN number sorted before going over if I mostly plan on playing cash games with maybe the odd smallish tourney thrown in?

how do we get an ITIN number before we go?

Jesus Wept

BigCityBanker wrote:

how do we get an ITIN number before we go?

This was mentioned in a thread a few weeks ago, I tried to find it last week, to no avail....

I dunno how you get one before you go, it was said before that The Rio are unhelpful, but one or two of the other casinos will help you out... I just can't remember which...... The Venitian??

Ste05

I know there has been another thread about this recently, does anyone have it bookmarked, (and so can link it here)

I'm thinking if heading over for a couple of weeks during the WSOP for the cash action. And as far as I can remember I think there was a $20k maximum in cash you're allowed bring over.

Is it possible to just put a load of money into your credit card and use that?? I just would rather not have to (a) bring $20k in cash or (b) send a wire over to the Bellagio.

Also is there any need for this ITIN number if you're only playing cash games, as I don't think I'll play any tournaments apart from maybe a couple of WSOP sats. or the likes. i.e. do they keep a record of your chips bought and chips cashed out for tax purposes for the US residents??

BigCityBanker

10k in cash is the absolute max you can bring with you. not a dollar more!!

5starpool

Max is $10k

bohsman

Not true, you can bring more, just need to answer more questions.

Google ITIN.

robinlacey

what's an INT number?

why would you prefer not to wire money ste,is there some hassle involved that i haven't thought of,i was thinking it might be the best the way to go about things.

also i remember reading some thing about david benyamine being detained for quite some time a few years ago because he had more than 10k cash on him and they did loads of background checks on him,etc,it sounded like a nightmare...

Bandara

This might help......


10. How much cash may I bring with me for my trip?
There is no limit on the total amount of money or monetary instruments that may be brought into or taken out of the United States. However, if you transport or cause to be transported, more than $10,000 in monetary instruments on any occasion into or out of the United States, or if you receive more than that amount, in behalf of someone else and then transport it, you must file a Customs Form with U.S. Customs. Failure to comply can result in civil and criminal penalties, including seizure of the currency or monetary instruments. Monetary instruments include U.S. or foreign coins, currency, traveler's checks, money orders, and negotiable instruments or investment securities in bearer form are all considered when determining the total $10,000 reporting requirement.

The form:
http://www.sec.gov/about/offices/ocie/aml2007/fin105_cmir.pdf

Lafortezza

robinlacey wrote:

why would you prefer not to wire money ste,is there some hassle involved that i haven't thought of,i was thinking it might be the best the way to go about things.

I think if you wire money to a particular casino, say $20k, it's not like an atm where you can just go in and take it out bit by bit with no hassle. I remember a thread a while back on 2+2 where someone said that the casinos don't make it easy for you to move money around when in Vegas.
If you wired a large amount of money to a casino you can't ask them to transfer it to another casino if you decide to play most of your poker somewhere else.
Something to do with money laundering afair.

Best thing to do would be ring up and ask.

I used my credit card in the ATM when I was in Vegas last, there was a charge of about $6 or $8 on a withdrawal of $500.

ITIN number is the number you need from your bank that shows you don't have to pay tax on gambling winnings. Used more for big tourney scores than cash games I think. Only thing to remember is that if you run very well in poker and are cashing out more $$ than you brought, you still have to go through customs on the way back.

Ste05

lafortezza wrote:

I think if you wire money to a particular casino, say $20k, it's not like an atm where you can just go in and take it out bit by bit with no hassle. I remember a thread a while back on 2+2 where someone said that the casinos don't make it easy for you to move money around when in Vegas.
If you wired a large amount of money to a casino you can't ask them to transfer it to another casino if you decide to play most of your poker somewhere else.

Yeah, this would have been my main problem with wiring money, I just can't see a casino doing it as a favour to me, and I wouldn't want to have to (a) stay in the Bellagio, (pricey AFAIK) (b) play all or alot of my Poker in the Bellagio.

I would just prefer my money to be as liquid as possible and in my control at all times. I think probably cash, travelers cheques and Credit Card loading is probably the best way for me to go. Those credit card charges seem savage.

Although it's a good point about the way home, as if I go it'll very much be a "working" holiday and I'd expect to make more than I went over with and explaining the money coming home will have to be done too.

5pin5

i carried nearly 30k with me i filled in the form at dublin when i got to the states i was asked about the cash just said i was going to vegas to play the wsop of course they said i was mad but just let me through no problem

Drakar

Tell them you're bringing 3 buyins incase you get knocked out early.

Imposter

bohsman wrote:

Not true, you can bring more, just need to answer more questions.

Google ITIN.

I've done this. The first link is great in that it explains what it is and all but has nothing about how it applies to gambling.

I have also read on here that people sorted it before they went. I can't remember whether it was needed for cash games. This is the sort of info I was looking for.

5starpool

Depending on who your credit card issuer is there may be no charge for cash advances when you have money loaded onto your cc (I know BOI Visa is this way at least) apart from any that the machine applies at the time of withdrawal. I know most American machines in lobbies and restaurants etc do apply a charge, but the ones at banks don't usually.

I am going to have a certain amount in cash and load the rest onto my cc just. Even if I end up paying $30 or $40 in ATM charges then big deal tbh.

Imposter

5starpool wrote:

Depending on who your credit card issuer is there may be no charge for cash advances when you have money loaded onto your cc

I'm pretty sure in the unlikely event of CC fraud and/or theft any money loaded onto your card is not insured!

ocallagh

The Bellagio Poker Room or the Wynn will sort you out with an ITIN number. You don't need it before you go. Some of the Harrah's casinos are dicks about it.

You can bring 5 billion in cash, you just need to declare it and have a valid reason for it. No problem there.

Withdrawing from ATMs is a pain. Daily withdrawal limits apply (€600 or €700 for most), and on top of that your bank will charge ridiculous exchange rates.

By far the cheapest way is to either bring it in person or wire it to a casino (For large amounts you can get a preferential rate by phoning a dealer in your bank)

5starpool

Imposter wrote:

I'm pretty sure in the unlikely event of CC fraud and/or theft any money loaded onto your card is not insured!

You are correct Sir.

ZZR1100

lafortezza wrote:

ITIN number is the number you need from your bank that shows you don't have to pay tax on gambling winnings. Used more for big tourney scores than cash games I think. Only thing to remember is that if you run very well in poker and are cashing out more $$ than you brought, you still have to go through customs on the way back.

Is it 10k max on the way home aswell? If so best way to bring home more ?
Pat griff had a story of strapping 60k to his legs on the way home.

why load up your credit card?. it is a credit card after all.once your credit limit is high enough, just pay back when u return

Jesus Wept

ZZR1100 wrote:

Is it 10k max on the way home aswell? If so best way to bring home more ?
Pat griff had a story of strapping 60k to his legs on the way home.

why load up your credit card?. it is a credit card after all.once your credit limit is high enough, just pay back when u return

You get charged more that way.

They charge you if you withdraw money using your credit limit, about 2 - 3% I think (don't quote me.)

This would be on top of the transaction charges mentioned earlier

5starpool wrote:

Depending on who your credit card issuer is there may be no charge for cash advances when you have money loaded onto your cc (I know BOI Visa is this way at least) apart from any that the machine applies at the time of withdrawal

bohsman

Imposter wrote:

I've done this. The first link is great in that it explains what it is and all but has nothing about how it applies to gambling.

I have also read on here that people sorted it before they went. I can't remember whether it was needed for cash games. This is the sort of info I was looking for.

In the link it explains how to apply for one - a w-7 form. You should be fine for cash games as even if you win more than 5k the majority of it will be in $100 bills, if youve more in chips and theyre going to be fussy cash out in stages.

PiperT

lafortezza wrote:

I used my credit card in the ATM when I was in Vegas last, there was a charge of about $6 or $8 on a withdrawal of $500.

To be fair, this is peanuts considering what we all pay in rake/tips e.t.c.
Its funny, I've seen guys donk €300/€400 into a pot in a heartbeat with a marginal hand, lose and then reload, and then they whinge about the price of a pint in their local. Actually, I've done it myself...

I would suggest a mix of cash and cc.

Brayruit

The-Rigger wrote:

about 2 - 3% I think (don't quote me.)

Ha

5starpool

I thought it slightly better to resurrect this than to create a new topic for it, but I read today that there are new anti money laundering laws coming into force in the EU from this Friday 15th June to limit the amount of money you can carry into the EU now before you have to declare it, to €10k (or the value of €10k in other currency), so beware of this if anyone scores big over there and takes home a few dollars. This includes currency, cheques, bank drafts, etc.

Tar.Aldarion

So is it the same as the US then? Form etc?

cardshark202

I had a BOI mastercard last year and got raped with the charges, I have a BOI Visa this year so I gather there are little or no transaction fees when getting money from the cashiers? Cos I will need to use it pretty much right away as I'm running low on cash in hand.

TrueDub

cardshark202 wrote:

I have a BOI Visa this year.

Ring them before you go & tell them you'll be in Vegas, and give them the dates.

When I was there the time before last they blocked my card as the transactions were coming from an "unusual source". While I was pretty annoyed at the time, I could see their logic, so I remembered the next time to ring them, and had no problems whatsoever.

RoundTower

this 2+2 thread has some info on wiring money to Vegas.

I am going to call the Bellagio tonight and post info.

smoothcall

I was wondering if anyone knows about cashing cheques in america. I have a few cheques which i got from Full Tilt and instead of cashing them here and then getting dollars over there and loosing on charges , can i cash them over there??

ty if anyone knows

carrigeen

When I went last year I was bringing more than the 10k and didnt fancy thE hassle of declaring it. I rang the hotel I was staying in (MGM) to arrange a wire of money over. It was possible but when you do that you had to use the chips in thier casino and when you cashed out it was relodged to your account in the MGM (This sounded way ouver the top and I didnt do it)

Just be sure if you are wiring that you can cash out the money as last year we did most of our gambling in the RIO even though we were staying in the MGM.

robinlacey

i just spoke to my bank and what i am hoping to do is transfer whatever money i will be bringing over onto my credit card and use that for poker stuff,then just bring cash for spending money...

is there any reason not to do this? it seems like it'd be a lot less hassle than wiring money and collecting it in chips... just to clarify i don't mean putting it on the credit card as "credit",my limit is 1k or whatever,but i'd be putting more than that onto the card so i wouldn't be using the actual credit,if you know what i mean...

5starpool

I believe the main downside to this is that if your credit card is defrauded, any more you have on that in surplus is not insured, whereas if someone buys stuff through fraud then it is insured.

Edit to say that I will still be using this method mostly anyhow, but my BR will be substantially smaller than others though.

Lafortezza

Would there be a limit on daily withdrawals robin?

RoundTower

smoothcall wrote:

I was wondering if anyone knows about cashing cheques in america. I have a few cheques which i got from Full Tilt and instead of cashing them here and then getting dollars over there and loosing on charges , can i cash them over there??

ty if anyone knows

Most Americans seem to cash out without much trouble, though there are some stories on 2+2 about people getting online poker cheques declined. But if you don't have a bank account in the US, you are going to pay charges anyway to cash it at a cheque cashing place.

If the cheques are for a substantial amount of money you can probably convince a casino to cash them for you. Otherwise I think I'd stay on the safe side and cash them in Ireland.

Robin if you have online banking perhaps you can transfer the money to the credit card as needed? So you don't have to walk around with a credit card worth $50k uninsured for a few weeks.

carrigeen

robinlacey wrote:

i just spoke to my bank and what i am hoping to do is transfer whatever money i will be bringing over onto my credit card and use that for poker stuff,then just bring cash for spending money...

is there any reason not to do this? it seems like it'd be a lot less hassle than wiring money and collecting it and you chips... just to clarify i don't mean putting it on the credit card as my "credit",my limit is 1k or whatever,but i'd be putting more than that onto the card so i wouldn't be using the actual credit,if you know what i mean...

the only drawback with this is a) using a normal atm you are limited to amount you can withdraw daily and b) there are machines in the casino which will give a voucher and you can withdraw large amounts but the charges are criminal (really high like 6% i think if i remember rightly)
t

5starpool

carrigeen wrote:

the only drawback with this is a) using a normal atm you are limited to amount you can withdraw daily and b) there are machines in the casino which will give a voucher and you can withdraw large amounts but the charges are criminal (really high like 6% i think if i remember rightly)
t

Can you not purchase chips at the cage with a CC over there with no additional charge like you can do here?

ocallagh

pokerstars or partypoker could make a lot of money hooking up peoples online BR's with some of the major casino's cages.

Robin, The max you can take out on your CC is roughly $1000 from ATMs every 24hrs. You will get raped by exchange rates too. You can make cash withdrawals from the cage in most casino's up to the limit on your card I think, however they charge huge commision for this (I got charged something ridiculous like 5% on 5k last year from the rio, and then BOI raped me again with commision, but I had no other option). Wiring or personally bringing the cash is by far the best option. Wiring is totally secure and as long as the casino allow you to withdraw at will, then there should be no problem. Maybe a combination of all three would be best?

mcaul

Most ATMs in vegas accept Laser cards - ask your bank to increase your daily withdrawal limit to €1000 ($1300) or more - also do the same with your credit and and load it up before going.You could open another bank account - the no fee ones and load this up too.

Throw in a couple of travellers cheques - if you're staying in the hotel you'll have no problem cashing them.

Sign a form with your bank to allow you fax / telephone a transfer request.(emergencies!!)

And then add a few k of cash and you should have enough for a day or two!!!:D


Bank fees - Bank of Ireland 3.5% inclusive of all charges & currency margin.
AIB - up to 5%

Goremount

Just a note on the ITIN number. Was reading a post on one of the other forums from a guy who had cashed at the rio and he said this year they are a lot more helpful so no need to get one sorted before u go.
Best of luck all!

Duff Man Jr.

Bump,

Now that people are back from the wsop, what is the best way to get money in and out?

I'm going the 14th and planned on bringing cash but when I rang the bank today they said they cant guarentee they'll have the cash and wont know till Wednesday.

I dont want to lump it onto my credit card because if I only take out circa 1k at a time i'll lose a load because of the much better rate i'll get for exchanging a bigger amount.

Transfering it to the Bellagio sounds like too much hassle, they wont give cash and wires have to be used for gaming purposes. Even though I imagine i'll be playing there the most I dont want to be obliged to. And they keep track of your play so it just gets messy getting cash from them.

I'm thinking the best way might be to bring a few k and get someone to western Union me the rest, but since no-one here or on 2+2 mentioned it i'm gussing there is a good reason not to.

Misneach

How much you taking Duff?

Misneach

Western Union is fine, you can transfer and collect quite easily at Ballys, but it has to be sent to Ballys..the easiest way is to carry cash or if that isnt possible in ur case, wire ur money to the Bellagio, it isnt as difficult as you say, you can play and then cash in ur chips around 3k at a time..soon enough you'll have most of ur money, its not the hassle you think it is.

RoundTower

Western Union is like 7% cover charge, this will kill you.

Transfer to the Bellagio as suggested. The chips should play (at least) at the Bellagio, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, Mirage, Treasure Island, Monte Carlo, New York-New York, Luxor, Excalibur and Circus Circus. You can get 10% of the wired amount in cash, and do a little bit of cover play before cashing out the rest (they don't really track your poker play).